Thursday, November 8, 2012

Remember when I said I'd be back after fall break? OOPS! School started, yearbook started, personal stuff happened and well I'm back. I have been absent the past few days and oh it is horrible! I haven't been at school since Monday and it is weird. I hate missing work! We have a horrible time getting subs, and apparently (I was there this morning for two classes) my "sub" the man who covered my class (our alternative education teacher) didn't do much of the work I left for my kids. I have two of my classes for 90 minutes so of course I left TONS of worksheets. We are focusing on reading comprehension right now so what better way to get that going then reading comprehension worksheets. (what easier way to get grades while you are gone?) so this morning I had my first/second hour making up some of those worksheets because they need grades. I wasn't at work on Wednesday either and let me tell yall this, on my desk (which for once you could see) there is a bright green folder that says Emergency Sub Plans. I had one teacher text me about them (but I was sleeping so I didn't see the text) and no one else bothered to look. I have two teachers on my hall who know where I keep things, everyone knows that one of the teachers and I work together quite a bit so they could have asked him. EPIC fail! I did have another teacher find a worksheet on my desk and have them do that, which while it was a "quiz" on following directions it was something. I felt bad because normally my kids can just read but I removed the classroom library before Fall Break and haven't returned it. They weren't using it, and I need to go through the books to find new ones, get rid of the beat up ones, replace, etc. I was there this morning for my first/second hour so they spent some time this morning working on those reading comprehension worksheets. I gave them to the students so that they could actually use those skills we worked on. I also gave my other classes TONS of work (oh wait would it be the worksheets I had already assigned) to be finished. I handed them to the teachers, and then told them who they could trust. I am praying that some of it got done because I hate having to "waste" time and have the kids finish these assignments but at the same time I need them to understand when I am gone the work will be graded. Anyone else feel that way? Morale at school still sucks and it's funny because we just had a survey returned from the beginning of the year that explains about the Occupational Health of our building and some of the admin team think it's great. If they only knew (or listened to people) they would know that at least three teachers are thinking of resigning, quite a few are looking to "jump" ship, I can't even begin to tell you how many teachers are so burnt out and it's not even Winter Break yet. It doesn't help that some of the stuff we are doing is paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. I miss teaching. I miss working really hard on a lesson and watching it either succeed or crash and burn but I know that I worked hard on that. Now, it's impossible to get myself motivated to write my daily lesson plan. Yes, daily lesson plan and if I don't have a week's worth of lessons I will be reprimanded. Really? I understand wanting to know what I am doing but seriously people I barely have time to see my husband, get grades done, tutor (mandatory), try and cover, etc. At the heart of it I still love my job, but when is enough enough? When are people going to start listening to the teachers again?